This book ages much more poorly in hindsight. So much of the “success” of GE stock under Welch was clearly financial chicanery.

Downrated from 5* to 1* due to economic logic which was based on that "factories should float between countries to take advantage of lowest costs, be they due to under-valued exchange rates, low taxes, subsidies, or a surfeit of cheap labor.

Globalization has made Welch’s barge a reality. However, in doing so it has made capital mobility rather than country comparative advantage the engine of trade. And with that change, “free trade” increasingly trades jobs and promotes downward wage equalization." T. Palley

We can do better than this sh*t.

One of my MBA professors kept on suggesting this book to learn about management and sales. So I got this book just to see what was there to learn. It is book about Jack Welch, CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world. How he reached that level and what it takes to be a leader has been discussed in many of the chapters. It is definitely a good read, as you are learning for somebody's experience. But I think this book just touched the surface of what all went on behind the scenes. So I was not exactly satisfied with this book. You may read it, because it does have some very good points.

Excellent and inspirational

A masterpiece on management, i loved every bit of advice rendered. Jack was just sensational; when I grow up, I want to be like him

Helpful to understand GE through the 90s

A must read for anyone working in corporate trying to decipher how to go from good to great. Sticking to some basic principles of integrity, meritocracy, and honesty.

Finally finished your book, Jack! Thanks for leaving so much to remember you by. An amazing company, culture and people who you expected the best from and who you made into the best. What a great book if you want to look over the shoulder of a CEO and learn a few things. You also made me want to pick up golf more often!

It is a book of extremes. Large part of the book is a boring personal & corporate story. Then there are gems on GE turnaround, meritocracy, talent management, business strategy and so on. That was a great learning experience.

Then again, there are practices which made no sense to me at least. It was hard for me to believe the same person is espousing those two such different types of practices which differed so much in their long term implications.

It had some good nuggets about corporate america...and how he ran GE. It's an autobiography, but 98% about his work at GE, so sometimes it got sloooow. And over my head when they talk about stock options and deals. And Six Sigma. A glossary in the back would have been helpful.

Possibly a rather rosy side of the way things actually were at GE, but nevertheless en excellent manager who could get the best of of his people.

As CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001, Welch gutted the company and almost started over - focusing on key business lines, divesting less profitable or beneficial ones, exploring new areas, driving improvements and innovation. This is his own memoir of how he led the company through a period of dramatic growth and redefinition. In a mixture of personal memoir and leadership training manual, it contains good insights into his business sense, focus on quality, ability to lead and inspire, etc.